Thanksgiving, one of the best times of the year, is one of the most underrated holidays. On the last Thursday of November, the family gathers around the table, says a few a words, and feasts on turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and even more Thanksgiving delicacies. Thanksgiving is also one of the best excuses for eating as much as you want and being lazy for an entire day. Lounging around and watching the football game, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, or “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” with your loved ones makes for a great time to bond with family. As many of the memes for Thanksgiving on Twitter state, this holiday is the best time to eat and sleep as much as you want without getting judged.
However, the meaning of the holiday is to be thankful for everything you have and to spend time with the people that love you. Some people may ask, though, “Aren’t you supposed to be thankful all the time?” The answer is yes, but every once in a while, people need a reminder, and what better way to remember this valuable message than a holiday? Even the name for this wonderful holiday represents the meaning of “giving thanks,” the real reason for our celebration of being thankful with a feast and the people we love. Many people take things for granted, and the holiday of Thanksgiving is a great way to remind those who have forgotten to be appreciative for what they have.
Thanksgiving may only highlight being thankful for your family, friends, and other things that you may have, but it also creates a tighter bond withing your family and those you surround yourself with. While you sit around the table with parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, or whomever it may be, jokes, memories, and other positive moments are created, some that an individual may remember forever. These memories can lead to a greater bond between them and their relatives, and it creates a joyful environment for the family throughout the remainder of the day. Being with family and friends is important, especially during Thanksgiving to thank them for everything they’ve done for you. Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for those you feel need to be appreciated, and the people that love you and are always there for you deserve the highest praise of all.
Another reason Thanksgiving is one of the most underrated holidays of all time is the fact that people tend to skip Thanksgiving by gearing straight for the holidays in December, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, immediately after Halloween. Thanksgiving has always been overlooked as just another holiday in the way of the holidays near the end of December. After Halloween, many stores start to put up Christmas decorations or winter/holiday candy, which isn’t right at all. Also, shopping for Christmas just gets earlier and earlier. In the early 2000s, Black Friday shopping was only on Friday, but throughout the years, this shopping has been gradually getting earlier, and has made it way to Thursday night. This forces people to go out and leave their family a little earlier for the great deals at the stores they are planning to shop at for gifts. This year, however, some stores have decided not to decorate before Thanksgiving or to not open on Thanksgiving day at all. Others have even shared a post on Facebook to get their community to not shop on Thanksgiving day so other people don’t have to not celebrate with their families on Thanksgiving and work Black Friday.
Thanksgiving should be celebrated with the same anticipation as other holidays like Halloween, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and many other festivities celebrated around the world. The holiday of Thanksgiving is a great reminder to those who have forgotten to give thanks to those who deserve appreciation and should earn more recognition for its wonderful meaning of being grateful during this time of year. The greater connections and memories made with loved ones can last a lifetime in effect of the wonderful bonding time with your relatives and loved ones. In contrast, Thanksgiving is unappreciated and insignificant to the other holidays during this season. Thanksgiving should be acknowledged more for its true meaning of the season: being thankful and appreciative of everything that surrounds you.
